[center][h3]Dawn Casts Long Shadows
Part One: I Seek Revenge[/h3][/center]

Flashes of white, purple, yellow and lavender fill my vision; my consciousness is then covered in a haze that could only be related to absolute darkness.

.

. .

. . .

It is the skull-splitting pain in my head that awakens me, and as I open my eyes, with my vision blurry and my mind in disarray, the first thing that I see are the blades of grass swaying to and fro with the breeze, with the horizon behind them and the blue early morning sky above all.

But those things do not catch my attention. I struggle to my feet.

Most of my wooden armor was missing or damaged beyond repair so I quickly strip out of whatever remained on my form and stared at my left wrist, where a crude message had been carved and scarred onto the sensitive skin.

‘KILL THE TRAITOR’

A chill went down my spine and I felt a tightness in my chest. My vision goes red and I start breathing rapidly and grunting as my body threatens to lose its balance.

[color=9966CC]“GGGRRAAAAAHH!”[/color] 

I roar as I turn and smash my fist into a tree.

I take a few deep breaths and calm down. I look at the tree I just punched and admire the cracked and splintered surface my fist left behind and then look at my fist. The skin covering the knuckles was gone and I could see the cracked bones underneath. I felt no pain, however, as my eyes caught sight of something far worse.

Behind the tree I’d just punched was a large battlefield… Or should I say, a graveyard. It extended for as far as the eyes could see, overflowing with rotten blood, ruined soil, mutilated bodies of both men and beasts. Flies roamed in swarms, and now that I was calm and was more collected, the smell hit me.

I was lucky I had nothing to eat for a long time.

I do not remember much of what I did next, but now I am here, in an inn on the outskirts of a town somewhere in this gods-forsaken World. The woman sitting in front of me across the table takes a big swig of her ale and sets the mug down loudly.

[b]“So, y’want to join m’team, heh!”[/b]

She said in a foreign accent to mine, before looking up at me with a smirk on her face. She was short, and I was tall.

I looked her up and down slowly, at least the parts I could see. She wore the thick calluses on her hands proudly, and the way her lean muscles threatened to explode into action at any time told me all I needed to know. We both were strong.

I nodded my head.

[b]“You’re a quiet one, I like you,”[/b] She said, sobering up, [b]“and we do need more hands if we wish to head up north. You’re in. Got weapons?”[/b]

I nodded my head again.

[b]“Good, and armour?”[/b]

I shook my head no.

[b]“A shame, at least I see you’ve got furs for the cold,”[/b] She says as she admires the bear furs protecting my body from frostbite, [b]“We’ll get you some armour on the way there. Could you repeat your name for me, girl?”[/b]

I look at my hands, remembering how quickly my injuries healed and stare at the message on my left wrist again. I caress the scars with my fingers and feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

[color=9966CC]“My name…”[/color] I muttered, my long blonde hair serving as a curtain between me and the woman. Flashes of memories I did not recognize filled my mind for a moment, and then I lifted my gaze and stared the woman right in the eye, [color=9966CC]“My name is Seraph.”[/color]

[hider=Summary]
Behold! My first post after 84 years of hiatus! Although this doesn't feature Astarte directly yet, I hope you guys enjoy the introduction to the new Astarte-related plotline. I accept suggestions for when this could take place and, as always, I CRAVE COLLABS, MATEYS. HMU.

Our new character, a young human woman named Seraph wakes up with only a few memories on the outskirts of a large battlefield and with a message carved straight onto her wrist. Everything's shrouded in mystery thus far, but more will be explained in the next post (whenever that comes, hehe)[/hider]